How You Get The Girl
by be a riot
Summary: In which, Austin decides he wants Ally back. / One Shot / Based off of Taylor Swift's new song How You Get The Girl


The story starts here:

He falls fast, like a poorly designed paper airplane and she is the warm, welcoming surface he lands upon. He parks himself. She is really warm, like really, really warm. The kind of warm that had him content and sighing happily over his bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal. She likes yogurt in the morning, but he's okay with that. (As long as she didn't shun pancakes, too.)

Pancakes. He was almost half as good at making this breakfast as he was at proving that he loved her. He stirs the batter quickly and watches it goo together. She opens the bag of chocolate chips and dumps it in. She wasn't an entirely huge fan of pancakes, but she wouldn't tell him that. She stands on her tip toes and kisses his cheek.

He drags the tip of his finger along the side of the bowl and leaving finger-printed batter on the end of her nose. She stops in mid-sentence as the sensation drips from her nose onto the counter top. She catches the rest of it with the back of her hand. She laughs gently and even with a sore throat, it sounded pretty. She's even too kind to do it back to him. She lets him get away with it.

Just like she lets him get away with stealing her heart and then dropping it on the floor eight months later. "_It's not working, I just don't think we go together, we're very different, even the name's Austin and Ally don't fit"_. All of which, were purebred lies. She even scribbled their names together inside her journals and it always fit. Always.

She's so mad she doesn't even cry. He broke her heart so cleanly she hardly feels it, until she slams the door behind him and just the loudness of the slam made the vibration in chest wobble the pieces of her heart until the chipped off what was left. She still manages to scrape them up into her palms and try to put them back together. She curses his name under her breath. It makes her wince.

He's behind the door, filling his lungs with a great amount of air. He did it. He really did it. After the last month contemplating telling her it was over, he finally manned up and did it. But he didn't really feel all too proud. He scrubs his fingers through his hair and lets it flop messily to one side.

He jogs down her front porch steps and heads out into the big city of Miami. He reminds himself that it had to be done and good god, he thinks he did it well. He saw the look in her eyes. She'll get over it, won't she? It's just a stupid relationship anyways. He still can't believe she took his heart so fast. He grunts because she left it on her dresser, next to the pair of pants he forgot in the drawer. But he really was getting a little bit too comfortable, he had to go. Life will go on. It always goes on. Even if you argued that it shouldn't.

He kind of cringes at the rough edge on his heart that had suddenly worked itself there. He breathes deeply, clenches his fists. It had to be done, it had to be done, it had to be done. She was getting super close, she said she loved him, he almost told her he loved her, too, god forbid he would ever say that. He needed to get out of there pronto. Besides, Austin wasn't good at the relationship thing anyways.

A little while later:

Oh, Goodness gracious, it's only been six months? Just six? It feels so much longer than that. He sits in his car and still hanging from his rear view mirror is a Polaroid photo of Ally kissing his cheek, he's smiling like an idiot. God, he still remembers how she made him feel.

And suddenly, he frowns at it. Did he really...Yup. Yeah. Yes, he let that go. He let Ally slip through his finger tips - actually, he pushed her through his finger tips. Like she didn't need to be there but good god, did he ever need her there. She's the reason for the ache behind his ribs, for the bags beneath his brown eyes, for the shakiness of his breath at night.

He bites his tongue for a long moment, ignoring his cell phone ringing in the cup holder by the stick shift. He knows he's late for work but he's just thought of something great, something perfect.

He pulls out a slip of paper and in thick marker letters, he writes: _HOW TO GET THE GIRL._ He stares at it for a while, the thoughts and questions racing through his mind so fast he barely has time to rub logic on them. He doesn't care. It's four steps. How hard could it be?

The mission starts here:

1. Wow, the weatherman really wasn't kidding when he said it was going to be a downpour. Nothing was stopping Austin though. Not his car that broke down earlier that day, not his best friend's unsure response, not the freaking weather.

She still lives here, he checked in with her best friend (who he also didn't let stop him). His hair is sticking to his forehead, little drops of rain rushing down his face. He walks up the porch steps and his knuckles rap on the door thrice.

She opens the door, looking just as dashing as she always had. Thin pink lips, bright eyes, hair that fell on her shoulders in the right way. Her eyes grow wider at the sight of him. The nervous look on his pale face, the crooked grin that's hardly on his lips. He's shivering, but forcing his teeth not to chatter.

She blurts out, "Are you insane?"

He's feeling a little bit humorous, so he says, "I think so."

She's hesitant but still opens the door wider. "Come inside. You're freezing."

He obliges, stepping inside and inhaling the intoxicating smell of vanilla and cinnamon buns. Her apartment always had a cozy glow to it, especially on days like today. Especially now that she wasn't his. But he could change that, couldn't he?

She hands him a towel and he scrubs it roughly on his sopping hair. It sticks up in different directions. She doesn't giggle, still shocked by his appearance at her place. He'd pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth over the last six months and then here he was, standing in front of her at her apartment.

"What are you doing here?" she questions him, crossing her arms.

"Nice to see you, too." he utters, sarcastically and when she doesn't crack a smile, he knows his sarcasm was probably wrecking his chances. He wasn't going to let that fly. He sighs and gives a small smile, "I came to see you."

"You came to see me?" she echoes, eye brows raised.

"Um, Yeah." he says, swallowing.

"It's been six months." she states, bluntly. His eye contact with her drops and his gaze goes to his feet. He then works his stare back to her and nods.

"I know..." he sighs, "I just...These six months have been really hard, Ally. Trust me."

"No." she says flatly. He sighs again and starts to wonder if he'll run out of oxygen by the time he leaves the place from the amount of times he's going to be doing that. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but it was worth the try.

"I know how stupid this looks...How stupid this is going to sound...but...I miss you." he said. She doesn't reply, but her eyes didn't spark like he wished they did. The same expressionless features on her face. He wanted her to be bright again. "I miss you a lot."

"You miss me?" she gawks sarcastically, seemingly not falling for his words. He wished she would.

He closes his eyes. "Yes." He opens them again and sees her staring back at him. "I messed up, Ally. I messed up big time and I wish I can take it back but I can't."

"No, you can't." she interjected, her palms suddenly fisting.

"Hear me out...Please." he entreated. She kept quiet. "I know how I messed up and I know that I messed up pretty bad. I let you go and I shouldn't have. I assumed I was doing you a favor, that I was doing myself a favor, but I...I wasn't. I know that now and I just...I want you back. I want you back, Ally. I...I just...I want you."

"Oh, Do you?" she replied, mockingly. He cringed, contemplating whether or not to nod. He does anyway and she lets out a chortle, shaking her head. He sighs.

"Ally, I want you back." he repeats, the words rolling off his tongue with more confidence than he was used to hearing on himself before. "I don't care how long it takes, Ally. I will get you back. I will fix this mess. I made it this way and I will fix it. I want you back if you're good for me, I want you back if you're bad for me. I just...I want you."

It seemed to be the only words he knew how to say: _I want you_. Because really, what else could he say? That was the truth. All of it in three words: I want you. She stares blankly and he takes a deep breath. "I know...I know that I hurt you, Ally. I know that. I wish I could take it back, I really do. I want to take it back and I will fix what I did. I'll wait forever, Ally, if that's what it takes to get you back. I will wait for you."

There's a silence that makes him uncomfortable. She holds his stare while he holds his breath. "Yeah? Well, I want you to _leave_."

Austin sighs, "Ally-"

"You don't get to break my heart and then just come over here and _make up _for it. That's not how it works. You blew it, Austin. You got what you wanted: You lost me." Ally said, firmly, trying not to lash out and print a red mark on his cheek.

"But that's not what I wanted-"

"-Leave before I have to make you." she said, her teeth gritted. He wants to throw a temper tantrum and lay there motionlessly but he knows better. He lowers his head, sighing. She doesn't even feel bad.

He turns around and heads back out into the pouring rain. He looks over his shoulder but the door was already slammed shut. The only sound was the rain splattering on the lonely pavement.

2. He shows up again, but this time it's not at her door, it's at the store. She's just looking for a good birthday card for her mother when a body stands a little bit too close. She looks over slowly and lets out an exaggerated breath.

"What?" she snaps, venom dripping. It doesn't scare him though.

"I like this one." he says, showing her a card. She had been looking at the one, coincidentally it's the one she likes the most. Even being polar opposites, they did have similar tastes sometimes. She glares over at him, taking the card and reading over it again.

"What are you doing here?" Ally bit out.

"I saw you walk in." Austin said.

"You followed me in here?" she questioned him.

"I wouldn't say followed, more like chased." he gives her a crooked and cocky grin, hoping that maybe she'll laugh but she grips onto the card and he's scared for a moment that she'll tear the card. He nervously scratches the back of his neck.

She grabs a white envelope to go with the pink card. She turns out, looking at the shelf. Maybe she'd find a pretty ornament for her mother but she's distracted with the not-so-much-of-a-stranger breathing down her neck. If she could rip the floorboards out of the floor and hit him over the head with it, she'd do it.

He points at a picture on the wall. It's a couple; a boy with his hands in his pockets and a girl pursing her lips against his cheek. He smiled slightly, "You did that all the time." Her eyes run along the other pictures, all of couples kissing cheeks, kissing lips, holding hands, dancing, all the things she'd done with Austin. Her heart suddenly hurts again and it's all his fault.

"Leave me alone." she says and he can hear there's a weight in her throat. He sighs.

"Ally-"

He forces himself to stop talking when she makes it to the till, scanning her credit card. She grabs the plastic bag of her things from the cashier and dashes out of the store. Austin follows her. She heads down the street for her car.

"Ally!" he calls again. She keeps walking, but he had longer legs than she did so it doesn't take much for him to catch up. "Look, I'm sorry and if you'd look at me, you'd see that I mean it."

So she turns to look at him and was expecting to see how fake the apology was but she stops because it really was there in his eyes. The ache, the sincerity. She narrows her eyes and takes off again. He sighs and continues to follow her, beckon her, pray that she stopped walking away from him.

As the streets get more crowded, they fall into a pace next to one another. "Ally, I was stupid to ever let you go, okay? I know that and don't think that I don't, because I do. Six months without you was the hardest thing I've ever done and I don't want to do it anymore."

She stopped and looked at him. "You broke up with me." she said, "You were fine one day and the next day you broke up with me without a cause or explanation. I never did anything. I was good to you."

It's not pride, it's truth. She was good to him. Always. She gave him everything he wanted out of love. But love had been his problem in the first place. He was going to fix it though. He wasn't going to let the fear of being so in love hold him back from getting what he wanted.

He sighs. "I know. I'm sorry. I know you were. And I'm sorry." he keeps repeating. She shakes her head and walks away again. This time he lets her walk away. Not after calling out that she remembers that he will wait for her, even if it meant forever.

She stopped in her footsteps. He holds his breath but then she shakes her head and walks away again, leaving him alone.

Austin's just thankful it's not raining this time.

3. His oath to wait for her sat inside her skull for quite some time. She'd seen him throughout the week, the small smiles, even when he walked over and convinced her over and over again that he wanted her back.

She just wanted to do away with him, never see him again. She wanted to presume life to the way it was before him, but it was almost impossible. Ever since he'd left, she was sad, empty, and the fact that he was playing with her mind and telling her that he still wanted her, was making matters worse.

Somehow, he must've said something right. She's seated by the window, waiting. Dez's birthday had rolled around, Dez being Austin's best friend and a friend she remained in contact with. She couldn't skip out on his birthday, even if she wanted to. He'd been a good friend to her. But there's no way she's waiting on Austin. Nope, nope, nope. Not the guy who broke her heart and was stupidly begging for her back.

Her heart halts as a silver car rolls up in the driveway. Her stomach might've flopped. His hair is messy and he does look rather good in a white dress shirt. She sighs and looks away. Why did he have to go and wreck everything? Why couldn't he have left it? Why did he have to break her heart?

She avoids him at the party. She might've sat there at the window and waited to see him drive up, but that didn't mean he got through to her. He wasn't ever going to get through to her. Even when Dez said never say never. God, she hated that saying.

Austin worms his way through the crowded bodies eventually, still surprised that Dez knew so many people and that they all fit in one condo. Ally's eyes were all he'd been seeing all night and he was kind of okay with that.

He grabs her arm before she walks away. Surprised, Ally twirls around to face the attacker. She relaxes when she sees who it is and gives him that emotionless stare again. He sighs but forces a smile again, "Ally. You're here."

"Yeah, I'm here." she replied with a snap, "It's his twenty first birthday. Why wouldn't I be here?" Ally's almost surprised with herself that she could force such a rude tone especially to the man she (still) loved. It had only been six months, she wasn't over him too fast. Maybe that's why she feels so angry.

"I'm glad." he said softly, "Have you at least thought about it?" he asked. She shakes her head. He nods, a small smile stays on his face. "That's okay. Because I'll wait as long as I have to."

And she thinks, _no, no, no,_ because she is so going down. Maybe he's got her. But she walks away and he is starting to wonder if he'll never get her back. If he really lost his chance. He doesn't go after her this time because her best friend is watching with narrowed eyes but when he gives Trish the small wave, her eyes seem to soften and it's really looking like Ally's the only one who doesn't see the sincerity.

4. There isn't an after-party after the party (Everyone agrees with Trish that it sounds stupid) like Dez had hoped, but it's okay. The guests had left Dez's condo, Trish had driven herself home, and Dez was now outside with his girlfriend telling her goodbye.

Austin and Ally were the only ones left inside. Austin pushes the cake to the back of the fridge. The condo is clean once again and he's definitely ready to go catch some sleep. He feels drained from the week. Ally watches from the corner of her eye as he jingles his keys in his hands.

He's halfway to the door when he's suddenly stopped by a warmth in his palm. Confused, he turns to meet the face of whoever stopped him. His face goes into a mixture of softness and surprise as he sees the brown eyes. They're filled with tears. He can't tell if they're good tears or bad tears.

Finally, she whispers, "Don't go again."

His breath had become just as uneven as hers. He looks down to their hands as she holds gently onto his fingers, the hold so loose like she's expecting him to wrench his hand from her grip and keep going. But he doesn't move. He looks back at her face.

He says, "Okay."

And he watches as she blinks surprised. Almost like she was waiting for it to be so much harder. He smiles slightly. "Forever?" she suddenly says, "You would really wait...forever?"

"For worse or better." he replies.

"You broke my heart, Austin," she says gently, "You'll put it back together?"

He turns fully, facing her. He stares down at her. "I want you forever and ever."

So she reaches up and her arms go around his neck. She steals his breath to kiss his lips and he's stunned for a moment. Then he relaxes, his lips move, too. And he's got exactly what he's been praying for. She pulls away from him, getting a good look at his face. She smiles.

"Is that how it works?" Austin questioned, smiling slightly.

She nods, replies, "That's how you get the girl."

_**this felt super crappy but i love the song and...yeah.**_


End file.
